What’s happened since Devon Bailey was killed by two CSPD officers
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- One year after Colorado Springs officers shot and killed De'Von Bailey, a number of protests and lawsuits have resulted in change.
On August 3rd, 2019, two Colorado Springs police officers shot and killed 19-year-old Devon Bailey. Sgt. Alan Van't Land and Officer Blake Evenson approached Bailey and his cousin, Lawrence Stoker, after police were called to investigate a robbery that had just taken place.
Officer body-worn camera footage shows Sgt. Van't Land approaching the two men and begin to ask them questions. When Van't Land asks both men to put their hands up so they can be searched for firearms, Bailey runs away.
Officers are heard yelling, "Hands up! Hands up!" They shoot several times at Bailey, ultimately hitting him seven times in the back, according to video footage later released by CSPD.
Days after the shooting, protests erupted in Colorado Springs outside the police operations center, demanding for the department to release body camera footage of the incident.
Next, surveillance video from a neighbor's home showed the tail-end of the shooting, including Bailey falling to the ground when he was hit by bullets.
Less than two weeks after the initial shooting, Colorado Springs Police released two angles of body camera footage and the 911 call that led police to Bailey and Stoker.
The graphic video incited more protests calling for the termination of both Sgt. Alan Van't Land and Officer Blake Evenson. Instead, both returned to work the very next day.
Two months later, on October 4th, 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May in charge of investigating the shooting announced he would be referring the case to a grand jury.
On November 13th, the grand jury announced no criminal charges would be filed against the police officers involved.
In December, the investigative file provided to the District Attorney's office and the grand jury was released to the public.
In the same month, the welcome sign outside of Colorado Springs was vandalized, with red spray paint saying "RIP Devon Bailey," and protestors interrupt the city's annual Festival of Lights parade in downtown.
In March, eight months after the shooting, the FBI announced their own findings in the case. Their report said the shooting "wasn't a willful violation of Bailey's Constitutional rights."
In June 2020, Devon Bailey's family files a lawsuit against the city of Colorado Springs, its police department and the officers involved in the shooting.
Later that month, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signs a historic police reform bill into law, changing the "fleeing felon clause" that allows officers to shoot if the person running is believed to have committed a felony.
Lawmakers argue it's the same clause that allowed Sgt. Alan Van't Land and Officer Blake Evenson to cleared of any wrongdoing in the Devon Bailey shooting.
